Sacrifice (29 page)

I crept along the second story balcony trying not to the let the old floorboards beneath my feet give away my presence. I made it down the back stairs secure in the fact that no one had heard my retreat from the second floor bedrooms. And as I walked across the kitchen to Val’s liquor cabinet, I felt my body relax a bit.

I grabbed the bottle of vodka from the shelf, but as I opened the cabinet above the sink to find a glass, a shadow from the kitchen doorway startled me.

“
I see I’m not the only one in need of a drink,” Dallas said as he emerged from the darkness of the hallway.

In his hand was a glass filled with only ice cubes. He leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen entrance, raised the glass to his mouth, and drained the last dregs of liquid from his drink.

I reached into the cabinet for a glass. “Any particular reason you need a drink tonight?” I asked.

“
Same reason I’ve had a drink every night since your cousin’s wedding. But why I drink shouldn’t matter to you. You have David, right? So why are you here?”

“
I don’t have David. I’ve got Dan Goldvarg. And I guess I’m still trying to figure out if I’m willing to accept that fact,” I stated, repeating his words from the previous day.

I poured a measure of vodka into my glass and put the bottle down on the counter beside me. I grabbed the orange juice from the refrigerator and added it to my drink. I watched as Dallas stepped over to the counter and picked up the bottle I had left there.

He filled his glass to the rim with vodka. “I was just trying to prepare you for what lies ahead, Nicci. At the time I don’t think you really understood what you’re going to have to give up to be with David.” He put the bottle back down on the counter and looked over at me. “But I think you understand now, don’t you?”

I lifted my drink in the air. “Completely.”

A wave of concern rose inside of me as Dallas raised his glass of straight vodka to his lips.

I suddenly recognized that there were two of us in the room trying to come to terms with everything that had happened in the past few days. I had always considered Dallas tough and impervious to emotion, but it seemed I had been wrong.

I lowered my gaze to the floor. “I can only imagine how difficult this whole situation must be for you.”

“
Difficult? Nicci, don’t try and be kind and understanding with me right now. We both know how I feel about you, so let’s just say it has been a hell of a lot more than difficult.”

I looked up at him. “Then why stay?”

“
I stay because if I left and something were to happen to you or David, I would never forgive myself. Despite everything between us, he is still my friend and I want to see you both safe.” He swayed slightly as he stood next to the counter.

“
How many of those have you had?” I pointed to his glass.

“
Not enough to help me forget.” He put his drink down on the counter.

“
Look, Dallas, if David had not returned—”

“
You’d never have married me, Nicci,” he broke in. “We both know that. You loved me, but not enough.”

“
With time, I know my feelings would have been what you wanted and perhaps…” I let my words slip away.

“
We would never have made it. Seeing how you are with him made me realize that.”

“
And how am I with him?”

“
Really…happy,” he replied and then picked up his drink from the counter. “You were never that way with me.” He inspected the glass in his hand. “Perhaps it’s better this way. Losing you to him is a hell of a lot easier than losing you to some other guy. You were his first. I just never thought…”

“
I wish I could go back and change the past between us, Dallas. I wish there was something I could say to make this easier for both of us. You deserve better than this. You’re the best of men, Dallas, and I will never forget everything that you have done for me.”

“
The best of men?” he questioned as he looked back down into his drink. “I’ve done a lot of things I regret in my life. Things most men would never do. I guess this is my penance for being what I am. I will never have a woman like you.” He lifted the glass to his lips and drained it.

“
A woman like me?” I shook my head trying to comprehend the meaning of his words. “And what am I Dallas? Every man that has come into my life has been hurt because of me. You, David, and even Michael, have suffered from knowing me.”

“
What a pair we would have made, huh?” He put his empty glass down on the counter beside him. “I was always afraid of losing you, and you were always afraid of hurting me.”

He gazed into my eyes and for a second I could feel my heart break.

“
I wish you would reconsider taking over Simon’s organization. If you return to that life again you will never walk away from it. We both know that.” I paused as I recalled what he had told me of his former fiancée, Carol Wilbur. “You blamed yourself for Carol’s death and used her as an excuse to bury yourself in Simon’s world. Don’t use me as an excuse to go back to it now. I want you to be happy, Dallas. You deserve to be happy.”

He shook his head and reached for the bottle of vodka. “Some people are never meant to be happy, Nicci,” he said and he poured himself another drink.

I took the bottle from his hand and placed it back down on the counter. “No, Dallas, some people don’t want to find happiness because they’re more afraid of losing what joy they may find than ever searching for it in the first place.”

He reached in front of me and picked up the bottle from the counter. He poured the clear vodka into his glass, filling it to the rim. “Like I said, some people are never meant to be happy.”

I emptied the contents of my drink into the sink. As I stared down into the shiny stainless steel basin, I thought back to all the heated discussions we had endured in the past. Every encounter with him had always made me feel as I did now. It was as if I were standing at the foot of a great wall screaming to be heard without any hope of breaking through to the other side.

I sighed as I turned back to him. “Promise me one thing, Dallas. If you ever meet a woman you care about, fight for her. Fight for her like your life depends on it. Don’t become one of those men filled with a lifetime of regrets because of what never was. You have a choice, Dallas. The past will only break you if you let it.”

I turned and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Dallas August to consider his future. I hoped with every fiber of my being that for once in his stubborn life the man would listen to me and change the dangerous path on which he was about to embark. As I made my way up the stairs to my bedroom, I thought about the elusive Dallas August. In the space of a few days the cool professional I had once known had returned and the loving man I had shared my bed with over the past few months had completely disappeared from view. Leaving me to wonder which one had been the real Dallas August, and which had been the facade.

I went back to my bedroom and climbed in the large four-poster bed bedside David. Stirring at my presence, he reached out for me and gently pulled me to his bruised body. I felt him sigh with contentment as I nuzzled my head against his neck.

“
Where did you go? I don’t like waking up and finding you gone, Nicci,” he whispered.

“
I went downstairs for a little while. I couldn’t sleep.”

“
You need to try, Nicci. You’ll need to be sharp for tomorrow.”

I thought ahead to the coming meeting with Greg and Dallas. I wondered what Simon was up to and where he had disappeared to in the city. So many thoughts and troubles filled my head. And somewhere in the midst of my anxiety, sleep overtook me. In my dreams I was resting in David’s arms without a worry. For a brief moment I was happy, and the world was free from the clutches of Simon La Roy.

Chapter
Twenty

The next day the men were like restless soldiers waiting for battle. Uncle Lance had stayed the night in order to add an extra pair of eyes for our safety. He had spent most of the morning on the phone trying to get updates on Simon’s whereabouts from Carl Bordonaro’s people. After a few frustrating phone calls, Uncle Lance decided to head back to his condo for a change of clothes. Dallas offered to cook a luxurious lunch to get our minds off our circumstances. I only picked at the shrimp etoufee he had prepared. I noticed the men, however, cleaned their plates and even had second helpings of the strawberry torte Dallas had made. The heightened sense of alarm only seemed to fuel their hunger while it had simultaneously destroyed mine. Both men also leaned heavily on the alcohol during lunch. Even I had a yearning to numb my nerves for a respite from the nagging tension in the air. While the men sipped on whiskey and soda, I stuck with my vodka and orange juice throughout the meal.

After lunch had been cleared away from the breakfast table, we remained in the kitchen. I was still nursing my same drink from lunch while Dallas refilled his glass, as well as David’s, with yet another round of whiskey and soda.

“
I thought you only drank vodka,” I said as I watched Dallas swirl the liquor around in his glass.

“
I do, except when there is a very fine forty year old whiskey in the house.” He nodded to David. “Besides, he hates to drink alone.”

I turned my eyes back to David. “He shouldn’t be drinking at all.” I scolded.

“
You’re in trouble,” Dallas said to David.

David sighed and held up his drink. “I’m always in trouble as far as Nicci is concerned.”

“
She is a bit difficult to live with,” Dallas admitted.

“
Stubborn as all hell,” David offered with a sigh. “Won’t budge an inch on some things.”

“
Wants to debate you on every topic as well,” Dallas remarked, scowling.

I frowned at both men. “Will you two stop it? Shouldn’t you guys be coming up with strategies, or back up plans, or something instead of just sitting here and comparing notes on me?”

David smiled at me. “Hardly comparing notes, Nicci. More like reviewing your imperfections.”

Dallas shrugged. “Glad to know you were just as much a pain in the ass for David as you were for me.”

“
I was not…”

Uncle Lance unexpectedly sauntered into the kitchen. “Sorry, kid, but you’re a big pain in the ass,” he asserted from the doorway. “Even your father will attest to that.”

I stood from the table. “Uncle Lance, don’t tell me you’re on their side!”

Uncle Lance walked up to the table. It was then I noticed the brown leather backpack slung over his shoulder.

“
Wouldn’t dream of taking sides, Nic. Just stating the obvious. That’s all,” he clarified as he carefully placed the backpack on the table and zipped it open. He removed a gun from inside of the backpack and turned to Dallas. “Sig Sauer P226, as you requested,” Uncle Lance stated and handed Dallas the gun.

Dallas stood up next to me and tested the weight of the pistol in his hand.

Uncle Lance reached into the backpack again and pulled out another gun. “.40 caliber Smith and Wesson compact pistol. It’s close to your .357 in stopping power, but a lot lighter and easier to conceal.” He placed the gun firmly in David’s right hand. “Ammo is in the pack for each gun. Both guns are untraceable. Serial numbers have been taken off with acid,” he explained.

“
When did you decide on this?” I asked as I waved at the backpack on table.

“
While I was out I went shopping for the boys,” Uncle Lance replied. “I figured we could use some extra fire power around here. All Valie has is an old shotgun in her bedroom. And David’s gun is registered to George Elliot. I needed to get him something that couldn’t be traced.”

I watched as Dallas and David inspected their guns.

“
Excuse me, but shouldn’t we be looking for Simon?” I asked.

All three men turned to me. They seemed more interested in their guns than the man they needed to use them on.

“
No, Nicci,” Dallas spoke up beside me. “We need to wait for Simon to make his move.”

I waved around the kitchen. “So we sit around here and wait for Greg to go after Simon?”

Dallas shrugged. “We hope Greg goes after Simon. But if doesn’t, we have to have an alternative plan in place to deal with Simon.”

“
But you were confident Greg would take the deal you’re going to offer him tonight? What changed your mind?” I questioned.

“
You always have to take into account those uncontrollable variables, Nicci. You can never truly predict a person’s behavior and you need to plan accordingly. I told you once you never assume anything. It only leads to deadly mistakes.”

I rolled my eyes. “So what’s the alternative plan?”

David frowned at me as he placed his pistol down on the table in front of him. “If Caston refuses your offer tonight then I will call Simon and tell him I’m going back to New York with him.”

My throat tightened. “New York? You’re joking?”

David let out frustrated sigh as he repositioned himself in his chair. “Nicci, if Caston doesn’t take the deal, I have to go back to New York with Simon.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Why?”

“
Once I’m back with Simon, I will be in position to take over his organization. After that, I can eliminate Simon.”